Brick-pressing machine



Nov. 2 1926. 1,605,201

F. H. BANKERT BRICK PRESSING MACHINE Filed Feb. 23. 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet l ff x j@ Nov. 2 1926.

1,605,201 F. H. BANKERT BRICK PRESSING MACHINE Filed Feb. 23, 192e 4I sheets-Sheet 2 *URS Nov. 2, 192e.

Filed Feb. 25. 1926 4 Sheets-Shoa?. 5

Nov. 2, 192e'. 1,605,201

F. H. BANKERT BRICK PRESSING MACHINE Filed Feb. 23, 1926 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Nov. 2,` 1926.

. UNITED? STATES *PATEN'IN oF 1,605,201 FICE; i

FRED H. BANKERI, OF OTTAWA, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO CHICAGO RETORTAND FIRE BRICK COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

BRICK-PRESSING MACHINE.

Application mea February` as, 192e. seria; No. 89,858.

My invention relates to machines for pressing brick and providesa machine for this purpose'in which by means of av single pressing operation on` each brick, bricks of uniform thickness and relatively uniform density are produced. Though my invention is applicable to the production of all kinds of brick it is particularly useful in connection with th'eproduction of fire brick forl the reason that uniform thickness is especially desirable therein because it avoids the use of an excess of cement in laying the brick. It is well known that in lire brick constructions the cement in` which the bricks are laid is destroyed or deteriorated much more rapidly than the lire bricks themselves, and therefore it is desirableA to restrict the amount of cement to the yleast that can be employed and this can best be attained by provi-ding bricks which are as uniform as possible in thickness and the-surfaces of which are as nearly planeas they can be made.

In my improved brick press, which may otherwise be of usual or approved construction, I provide a shaving or trimming` blade so arranged in the path of the 'pusher by which the clots or blocksof material which are to form the brick are fed to the press box or chamber, that the clots are caused to pass under the blade and are thereby trimmed or shaved to a. uniform thickness before being received by the press box. As the dimensions of the clots are otherwise uniform they are thus causedto contain a uniform amount of material, with the result that after being pressed they are uniform in dimensions and density or vary only in the smallest degree. Provision is made for the adjustment of the Atrimmer so that the thick# ness of the 4clots after 'trimming may be varied and furtherprovision is Vma-deffor ejectin any shavings or fragments of material fiom the machine and preventing'them `from entering the'press box with the followingbrick blocks or clots. i

`In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated my invention as applied toa wellknown form of brick press, but it will be `obvious from the following description that it is applicable to a variety of presses, and while I- have specifically` described it hereinafter in connection with' the form of press.

shown, it is to be understood that I have done so for thelpurpose'of exempli'fication only7 and that the Vinvention is not limited to the specific form shown but only as itis defined in the following claims. In the drawings, Figure `1 is a side elevation of the form of press chosen for the purpose of illustration with my invention applied thereto; VIlig. 2 a longitudinal section on an enlarged scale of so much fof said press as is Convenient for an explanation of thev invention; Fig. 3 a plan cf the machine partly in horizontal section; Fig. 4 an end view thereof, and Fig. 5 a transverse'section of a portion of the machine on an enlarged scale. Describing firstl the known form of press chosen for the illustration of my invention, it comprises a main frame 6 having a press box or chamber 7 and a bed or track 8 over which latter theclots or blocks of brick forming material are fed to the press box. The press box is open at its upper and lower ends Ythrough which extend the respective plunge'rs 9, 10, carrying respectively the platens 11, 12 which closelyft within the chamber andi are reciprocable tocompress the clots as they are successively lfed to the press box to give the bricks their ultimate shape. In the form of machine illustrated 'the lower plunger 10 is suitably guided and it is reciproca'ted bymeans of a cam 13 operating on roller 14 carried by said plunger. In the particular machine shown, which is adapte-d to act upon two clots or blocks at the Sametime, thereare twin pressing boxes each equipped withv plungers and platens as described. yTheI lower plungersare connected to a common head` 15 which is 4suitably guided for vertical reciprocation Vin 'the machine. The above mentioned cam 13 is carried byv a' cross-shaft 16 mounted in the frame. 'The upper plungers 9 are Yconnected to afcross-head 20 which is guidedy for vertical movements in slotted standards 21.

The crossehead 2O is fo'rm'edwith trunnions 22 journaled in blocks 23 on the ends of links 24, springs, 25 yieldingly holding the membersl of theblocks 23 ,togetherso that there may be a` slightlyield incase of necessity to avoid breaking the machine, and also to provide anieven pressurevupon-the bricks. AThe lower ends of thelinks 17 are pivoted respectively on wrist pins 2b` carried by gear wheels 27'mounted on the above mentioned shaft 16 which carries the'cam f for operating the lower. lp'lungers. There are two of the gear wheels 27 arranged respectively on opposite sides of the machine and both driven from a common shaft 23 carrying pinions 29 meshing with the respective gear wheels, said shaft being driven by a pulley 30. The shape of the cam and its relation to the wrist pins through which the upper plungers are driven are such that the platens l2 are raised to receive clots, after which the upper plat-ens descend, compressing the clots and shaping them against the walls of the press boxes, following which the lower. platens rise to permit the removal of the formed brick and to receive new clots for pressing.` y As usual in machines of this type, a reciprocating pusher or follower 3l is provided to receive the clot or clots to be pressed and feed them to the press box successively. The follower is formed with ears 32 provided respectively with horizontal slots 33 for the re feption of pins 34 upon the front ends of the links 35. The latter are connected at their rear ends to the fork 36 which is mounted on a small countershaft 37 journaled in the frame. The vends of said shaft are provided respectively with castings 38 having transverse sleeves 39 to receive the adjustable arms 40. Set screws 41 are provided for holding the arms 40 in adjusted position. The free ends-of arms 40 carry pins 42 to which are pivoted the links 43, likewise arranged, respectively, on opposite sides of the machine. The other ends of links 43 are pivoted on the pins 26, previously mentioned. Thus at each reciprocatio'n of the plungers of the press and-at the proper time with relation to the movements thereof, the pusher is given a reciprocation. In the machine illustrated this occurs after each pressing operation when the lower plunger has arrived at such a position thatv its top face is in the plane of the upper face of the bed, so that the arrival of the follower or pusher with the new clots in front of it forces the pressed bricks from the face of the plungers and replaces them by fresh clots. A conveyor 44 receives the pressed bricks as they are ejected or removed from the face of the lower plungers and carries them away for suitable disposition. j

As thus far described, the press is only of a well-known form. According to my invention and in carrying thelatter out, the press is provided with a trimmer or shaving knife extending'across above the bed and above the path Aof the pusher', and both bed and pusher are modified -aschereina-fter described to `permit of their proper cooperation with the trimmer. The latter comprises a blade or knifeedge 46 mounted at an incline on the lower face of the knife bar 46a carried by adjusting bar 47; v The latter is vertically adjustable at its ends invslotted standards 48 provided respectively with' adjusting screws 49. The knife blade is of a length to shave both of each pair of bricks fed at a time by the pusher and the bar is out away at 5l beyond the ends of the knife to provide for the free movement thereunder of the lugs on the pusher and the actuating links connected thereto. The pusher comprises a U- shaped plate or member 52 which is provided at-its opposite edges with slide flanges projecting into rabbets in guide rods 54 extending lengthwise of the machine on opposite sides thereof'.A By this construction the follower or pusher is guided in its movements toward and from the press chamber.

In order to dispose of the material scraped or shaved from the clots and to prevent such material interfering with the operation of the press, the lower face of the pusher is spaced away from the upper face of the bed as at 55 and the front edge of the pusher is provided with a wiper 56 of flexible material of suilicient rigidity to maintain contact with the. face of the bed and sweep the shavings, etc., -therefrom. The bed is cut away at 57 so that the wiper will discharge any shavings ahead of it at its extreme forward movement, and furthermore the bed is slotted transversely at 59, to permit the discharge through the slot of any materia which falls back of the wiper. If the press box is formed in a. separate casting from the body of the frame as in the construction illustrated, this slot may be left between the adjacent edges of the castings, as shown in Fig. 3.

fis heretofore stated, the knife or trimmer bar is adjustable for blocks or clots of different thickness and it is preferable to form the pusher in two vertically interposed sections, as shown in Fig. 2, the upper of which,

6l, is bolted tothe lower. The upper section may be exchanged for one of a different thickness when bricks of different thickness are to be made.

y An inclined table 62 may be employed for convenience of the operator in placing the blocks or clots to be pressed in proper position to be engaged by the pusher. It may be provided with a rib 63 somewhat wider than the space 64 between the press chambers to further assist the operator in properly adjusting the bricks, and for the same purpose' the-pusher may be provided with a similar rib 65.

VvAny suitable meansmay be used for receiving the scrapings or trimmings discharged through the notch 57 and the slot 59. lf desired the table 62 may be provided with an under-shelf 66 up which the shavings or trimmings will be forced by the wiper.

The operation of the machine has been described in connection with the description of the construction but may be summarized as follows: When the pusher is in the extreme position shown in Fig. 2 the operator places a couple of clots or blocks to be pressed in position behind the same and on opposite sides of the rib 65. forward and the brick and pusher pass under the knife or trimmer which shaves any and all excessive material from the top of the brick. The continued movement ofv the pusher brings the front faces of the clots thereon into contact with the last brick pressed which has in the meantime been raised to the level of the4 bed by the lower plunger, and further movement of the pusher displaces the brick and brings the clots into proper position on the platen l2. The bricks are conveyed away or removed from the press. The lower platen then descends into the box and the upper platen 'follows it and the clot is compressed between the two to form brick of the desired size, after which the operation is repeated. The bulk of the trimmings or shavings from the brick fall behind or in rear of the pusher and are discharged in the next backward movement thereof. Any material which falls in front of the pusher is discharged through the slot 59 on the next forward movement of the pusher.

By the use of my improvement, the clots which are otherwise of uniform dimensions are reduced to uniform thickness, the knife being so set as to remove a thin shaving from all of the clots except, perhaps, the

very thinnest of them. Each clot, as it goes through the press, therefore, contains within the narrowest limit the same amount of material as every other clot. therefore the bricks, after pressing, are of uniform size. Furthermore by reason of the identity in the amount of material in all of the bricks ther press acts upon all of them with ther same pressure so that the formed bricks are identical indensity and since equal amounts of clay are fed to the press for each stroke, clay of greater stiffness may be. used than heretofore, and the finished brick being stiffer and stronger are not so apt to settle on'the drier car as would otherwise be the case.

I claim:

l. In a brick press, a frame, a` press box carried thereby, plungers cooperating with the press box for pressing clots to form The pusher then moves bricks, al bed-plate, a pusher reciprocating over the bed-plate and adapted to receive and feed clots to the press box, a trimmer blade mounted above the bed-plate and adapted to trim clots passing thereover and to drop the material removed therefrom onto the bed-plate, and means on the pusher for removing such material from the bed-plate.

2. In a brick press, a frame, a press box mounted on the frame, plungers cooperating with the press box for pressing bricks, a bedplate over which clots to be pressed are movable, a pusher for moving the clots over the bed-.plate to the press box, a trimmer blade mounted over the bed-plate and beneath which clots to be pressed are carried by the pusher, the blade being 'adapted to drop material removed from the clot onto the bedplate, and a wiper on the pusher adapted to discharge material trimmed from the clots Y f rom the front end of the bedplate.

3. In a brick press, a frame, a press box carried thereby, plungers cooperating with the press box, a bedplate, a pusher movable over the bed-plate to feed clots to be pressed to the press box, a trimmer mounted above the bed-plate, the bed-plate being .slotted ntermediate the trimmer and the press box, and a wiper on the pusher adapted to dis charge material'dropped from the knife on the bed-plate behind the pusher through the slot in the bed-plate.

. 4. Ina brick press, a frame, a press box carried thereby, plungers cooperating with the press box, a pusher movable over the bedplate, a trimmer blade adjustably mounted above the bed-plate and adapted to trim brick carriesL thereunder by the pusher, and means to vary the thickness of the pusher.

5. In 'a brick press, a frame, a press box, a bed-plate, plunge'rs cooperating with the press box, a pusher movable -over the bedplate but spaced therefrom, a trimmer blade mounted above the bed-plate and adapted to drop material trimmed from the clots onto the bed-plate, and a wiper mounted on the pusher and adapted todischarge material dropped by the trimmer blade onto the bedplate from the latter.

In testimony whereof', I have subscribed my name.

FRED H. BANKERT. 

